This evening, after work, I drove over to my friend Carolyn’s house in Dundee. I spent a little time hanging out with her adorable children. At around 7:00, we headed over to her neighbor Maggie’s house, a few blocks away. When we arrived, we signed up for what brought this evening gathering together – a birth chart reading party.

I was last to go, so while the other ladies took their turns meeting with the medium, I sipped on some wine, engaged in some great conversation with a small group of nice women, and I snacked on some veggies and chips and salsa. While we were hanging out, someone noticed a great, big harvest moon. It was huge and a brilliant amber color. It was beautiful. Eventually, it was my turn.

I pulled out my little notepad and pen and listened intently as my birth chart was interpreted. Now, it’s not like I frequent an astrologer. I don’t even look up my sign in the daily paper. But I’m not a skeptic, either. I believe that we are connected to everything – the moon, the stars, the trees… I believe in the Cosmos, and I believe it’s all divinely created. That said, I was open to the connectedness the universe offers to help us understand our personality traits, the patterns in our lives, and our soul-driven purpose.

That said, here are my notes on what the astrologer said:

First, I am a pure Capricorn, not born on any cusp, and I entered this world on January, 9 at 3:35 p.m. in Havre de Grace, Maryland, in the middle of a snow blizzard.

I was born in the House of Capricorn and my sun is in Mercury – I’m not all too sure if I’m getting the latter details correct, but all that means I am driven by Mercury and, therefore, my strength is in communication, speaking and writing. As for the ideal career, I need to eventually work toward being a ‘free agent’, working independently where I have great freedom. With my sun in Capricorn, I am energized in things that allow me to work independently, solitary, and I needed to take on the next challenge, always looking for the next mountain to climb.

My moon is in Leo, which is all about creativity and play. It’s how I get emotionally nurtured. I need to give myself plenty of play time, I must set time aside for it, but I also benefit from spontaneous play, as well.

My rising sun is in Gemini, which is ruled by Mercury – a planet that shows up again. This emphasizes my innate ability to teach, to share my wisdom and “sageness”, as well as writing and speaking. I engage socially as a speaker, I can talk about any topic. I am not an expert in one discipline, but rather, I know a little about a lot of things, which means I can talk to anyone and have engaging conversation with anyone. This also means I am very curious and have a deep curiosity to learn. I need a great deal of intellectual stimulus.

She also mentioned something about Sagitarius, which is about taking risks. She went back to partnership, and that I need to start taking leaps of faith in partnership. She told me I needed to have optimism, that I had been cynical or have felt perhaps “I don’t need one” when it comes to a relationship. She said I need to put an end to that cynicism and open up to possibilities. I wasn’t sure about this one, because I really do like my solitude. But, I listened and decided it couldn’t hurt to at least be open to something different than what I have been accustomed to.

She then looked very serious and changed the subject. She said in a couple of years I would go through a phase of Pluto square, which represents a time of change. She said I have been moving toward this great change for some time now, so it won’t be a big shocker when it happens. It has been a gradual progression, with the momentum toward this change already underway. She said that what I have been doing, career wise, will be affected in the next 2-3 years. This Pluto square phase should peak in 3-4 years, opening up to a highly creative cycle and I’ll need to let go of the old ways of doing things.

When the reading was over, I joined the remaining party guests. I shared some aspects of my reading. We all looked out the window in awe. The moon was blood red. It was eerie. I had never seen the moon turn red, not even during a lunar eclipse. I was a little nervous walking back home with Carolyn in the quiet, dark streets with a spooky, huge red moon. It reminded me of a mythical omen, like something from the Seventh Seal. Later, I discovered it had everything to do with atmospheric particles and dust, and forest fires.

To me, this also signfied change. A no-brainer, as the moon is inherently connected to change. But, irrespective of whether or not it’s a change of season, change in politics, change in social order, or change in the global climate – it felt like a real sign. And I’ve been feeling this, really intuiting this for quite some time. It’s a powerful tide of hopeful energy.

I’m not just sensing this in the form of a charismatic political leader of the moment, as crushes and infatuations with political celebrities of the moment will soon fade. The seemingly immortal become mortalized soon enough. And the political climate will return to status quo, once the excitement of icon seeking (a.k.a. this election) is finally over. This idea and hope for political change is a fleeting, fickle fancy, as much a passing trend as carrying miniaturized dogs in little designer handbag carriers or wearing ridiculously oversized furry Australian boots. Everything hot now is green, organic, sustainable, or about change. Real change. Right?

When I got home, I meditated. I closed my eyes, burned some Sweetgrass incense, and took in some deep, purposeful breaths. I felt centered. And I felt the roundness of coming full circle. I hadn’t meditated in months, but since have learned there are all kinds of meditation, and I didn’t have to limit myself to the clear-minded, free-from-thought-stillness that Tibetan Buddhism meditation required. Instead, I focused on my breath and allowed my mind to wander…

I thought about the birth chart reading from this evening. It has been clear to me that I needed to take risks in love, to trust more and allow myself to be optimistic. Part of the challege was to get over the cynicism or craved solitude that’s been a part of my being for so long, perhaps over many lifetimes. This is both refreshing and terrifying. My solitude has been a source of my strength, a source that has energized me. The notion that I need to start taking risks changes everything. And the idea of a creative direction taking hold for me in the next couple of years is quite exciting.

Further, reflecting on the week, my diet has been better. I haven’t been eating out as much (less change of gluten contamination). Plus, I’ve started taking a really good probiotic for better digestive health. Aside from some seasonal allergy symptoms, I have been feeling pretty good. I haven’t morphed into a totally different person since I first began this blog a year ago. But, I have come to know love better, and thus, I have become better acquainted with myself. I couldn’t really predict what I would get out of this, exactly. But I liked this idea of coming full circle. It’s validating and it’s comforting.

As I took in my final meditative breaths, full of languid purpose, I allowed my newfound awareness of this plight toward change to lead my mindfulness. I decided to let this grow in the center of my being, like a soft tendril unfolding, opening, sprouting, like my brightest chakra giving me strength, focus and light.